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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

After decades of various forms of globalization, whether through soccer, TV or arguably Facebook, we have reached a point where we have become mixed together. No longer are Americans exclusively Americans and Chinese solely Chinese. Instead, we have become an interacting mass. Rather than becoming more and more dispersed, we have become progressively more one. This said, in order to achieve organization, we can no longer rely on organization individually. It has become a joint, or supernational, process.

To take a modern day example, look at the EU and the development of the Euro as a means to integrate Europe. With the Euro, individual states who adopted this new monetary form lost their unique versions of currency. But with that came a more united Europe, a more globalized Europe. Nations were able to compare on broader levels, and thus reconstruct their identity. The social decisions that the EU made to enforce the Euro shaped the nations’ identities rather than the natural flow of politics. This form of ‘supernational integration’ was more of a liberalist approach for it was focused more on the greater good as opposed to the survival of each state.

From this, it is only natural that the integration would take place on an international scale. It would be impossible to mix internationally on national terms. This is not to say that we are limited to realist or liberalist actions. It can be a mixture of both. Supernational integration could take the form of a military invasion or diplomatic meetings. It’s an ambiguous term that is left in the hands of each nation. Depending on the nation’s identity, each would respond differently. For example, there’s a higher chance Afghanistan would opt for a hard power tactic as opposed to Norway who would leave their military be and opt for soft power. Thus, depending on the nation, each response would be different.